Spectrophotometric Methods for the Simultaneous Determination of Metals in University Laboratories

Spectrophotometry is an analytical technique that is studied at the university level because of its ease of operation and low expense. Three different experimental methods of gradual difficulty are proposed for the application of this technique to the simultaneous determination of two metals. The techniques are applicable to the practice of all subdisciplines of experimental chemistry. These techniques are (1) absorption spectrophotometry, the determination of cobalt (II) and copper (II); (2) first-derivative spectrophotometry, the determination of chromium (III) and copper (II); and (3) first-derivative spectrophotometry using the zero-crossing method, the determination of copper (II) and mercury (II).